Albatross
by DefyingSantaFe
Summary: An albatross can be good luck for a ship, leading a captain to safety. However, if one is to kill an albatross they will surely have bad luck.
1. One

_Disclaimer: I do not own, just play in the sandbox. Spoilers: up to and before and including "Lauren"  
_

_Worry not! I am still working on my other story, this one has just been sitting on my mind for a bit now and I couldn't shake it._

* * *

Dr. Spencer Reid was frustrated. He'd had his fair share of difficult unsubs, sure, but this one was different. The BAU had been called to Omaha for a particularly gruesome case. Not gruesome by means of murder, but thirteen dead teenage boys in a week is nothing to ignore. Each boy was found dumped haphazardly on the side of a well-traveled road. Each of them shot in the head once. Execution. The BAU had arrived the night before and already had an unsub in interrogation.

It would seem like this was an open and shut case. If the guy would talk. They managed to catch him because the would be 14th victim, Mark, had caught the man off guard, punched him and ran off to a public area. The man followed him only to be grabbed by two cops who were lunching in the area.

Clearly, this was the guy. The problem was that the team could not get him to talk. Him chasing a kid wasn't exactly incriminating. Mark gave his account of things and could only tell the aftermath, not the actual kidnapping part. They needed proof of this man's guilt or he would walk. He could just say that he was helping the kid, and the case would just end up being a he-said-he-said.

The unsub had no name on record, he wouldn't speak to them, he didn't have a weapon on him, and the building the kid ran from had nothing on it as well. It was too perfect for him to be innocent. Garcia was baffled, she can never NOT find information on someone. It was clear that this guy was well trained. In what? That's what they needed to find out.

That's why Reid would be doing the interview. Hotch, Rossi or Morgan would be too expected for this guy. Seaver was still too green to handle him, even after being with the team for two years. Reid would go in, the tall, thin FBI agent that doesn't look threatening at all. He would at least throw the guy off a little. Maybe.

"Reid, you ready?" Hotch walked into the conference room where the team had camped out.

Snapping out of his reverie, "I guess I have to be…I just wish I had a jumping off point with this guy."

Reid stood up from his chair, he could feel his limbs protesting just a little from lack of movement. Hotch handed him a file folder, nothing inside it but a couple of blank pages and a couple of pictures. Just for show, more proof of how infuriating this unsub was.

"Morgan, Rossi, Why don't you go check out the road again. He managed to dump thirteen boys on a busy road and not be seen. See if you can figure out how."

Both men nodded at the unit chief and left the room. Hotch took one last look at Garcia and Seaver before following Reid to the interrogation room.

The interrogation room was mundane, like they all are, with white walls. The door and the two-way mirror resided on the same wall, both leading to the observation room. Reid took note of the fact that the observation room, as well as the interrogation room, could be locked from the outside. Two separate doors to protect the outside world from the evil lurking within. Hotch looked through the glass and grimaced. The lines on his face deepening with the mounting concern that this man might just walk. They could only legally hold him for 48-hours with no evidence.

Reid stepped through the door. The unsub looked toward him with an uninterested expression and immediately went back to looking at a spot on the wall. Clearing his throat, and purposefully stepping into the man's line of sight, Reid began, "My name is Dr. Reid. I work for the FBI's Behavorial Analysis Unit."

Silence.

"Do you know what that is?"

Silence.

"Alright…It means even with your silence I am still getting everything I need from you. I am trained to figure people out."

Nothing.

"You are highly disciplined in avoiding interrogation tactics leading me to believe you are part of an organization or you used to be."

Silence.

"Eventually you will slip up, and we will catch it."

Reid wasn't sure of this, but he damn well made sure to make sure his voice sounded confident. The interrogation went similarly for the next couple of hours. Reid talking and getting absolutely nothing from the unsub.

Hotch had been watching Reid through the mirror the entire time, hoping to catch something the young doctor didn't. So far, absolutely nothing was going in their favor. Rubbing his eyes he took a step back and paced the room. The interrogation wasn't the only thing on his mind. Something felt off about this case. He could feel it, looming right over his shoulder but he couldn't place it.

Sighing he walked over to the water cooler and grabbed a paper cup. His phone buzzed in his pocket, indicating he had a text. Placing the cup on the table he checked his phone only to see a message from someone unexpected.

"Where in the Omaha precinct are you?"

He was a little alarmed that JJ knew where he was exactly but he'd ask about that later.

"Observation room #3, near the left entrance," he quickly replied.

Hotch hadn't seen JJ since the wake for Emily Prentiss. Seeing as they both shared a rather sensitive secret, it was best that they don't speak to each other except for work. He'd spoken to her on occasion on consults and it wasn't unheard of for her to supply information for cases, but seeing her was a different thing. Maybe their unsub was higher up than they initially assumed. That would explain why Garcia couldn't find anything, she wasn't supposed to.

The door to the observation room opened and shut quickly. Hotch turned to greet JJ, only to be confronted by dark hair, dark eyes and a fair complexion. He quickly moved to make sure the blinds to the observation room were closed and stood in front of the door to prevent anyone from entering.

"Emily…what-?"

"You'll understand soon enough, Hotch."

She made for the door of the interrogation room before he could stop her.

Reid wasn't sure how long he'd been talking to this guy. He was no where closer to knowing anything about him, let alone his name. And we was tired of calling him "you". Before he could start his next line of questioning the door all but exploded open. A blur of dark hair rushed past him and went straight for the unsub, grabbing him by the lapels of his shirt and slamming him into the wall behind the table.

"Amadeus, where is he?"

Reid stood shocked, mouth hanging open. How was this possible? The questions flickered through his eyes. Hotch placed a hand on his shoulder, "Reid, I need you to make sure no one comes into the observation room. Not a single soul, do you understand?"

Reid was still starring but nodded and left to guard the door. The man Emily had IDed as Amadeus looked equally as alarmed but quickly recovered.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Really?" Emily slammed him into the wall once again, "I'm not sure you want to lie to me right now."

"What are you going to do? You can't hurt me without getting into trouble from your people."

She rolled her eyes and forced him to his knees next to the table, pressing his neck against the edge effectively blocking his windpipe.

"Your 'man' killed me, so technically Agent Hotchner and his people have no control over me. Need I remind you that Ian taught me his ways of torture? Need I remind you that I have absolutely nothing against killing you and I'm pretty sure Agent Hotchner wouldn't stop me."

Amadeus was only able to make a gagging sound in protest.

"Do you WANT to test that theory?"

He raised his hand and hit it weakly against the table twice. Emily grabbed him by the lapels again and forced him to the chair.

"Answer my questions. Answer THEIR questions. Or I will hurt you."

Rubbing his neck, "You know, back when you were Lauren I was convinced the only reason you were with him was to kill him and take over his company. I must say, if I were to ever betray Ian it would be for you."

Hotch watched Emily. If that statement made her feel anything, she didn't show it.

"Where is he?" Her voice wavered slightly, not in terror but with anger.

"Not in town," Amadeus started, "but nearby."

"Why?"

"I'm certain you know that answer, do you need me to confirm it?"

"No. Sit tight."

Hotch and Emily exited the room and joined Reid in observation. Reid finally managed to organize the words in his head into a sentence, "How are you here?"

Emily opened her mouth to explain but Hotch interrupted her, "Is JJ here?"

Looking at Reid, she responded to Hotch, "She helped me sneak in here without being seen and then went to talk to the team. She isn't filling them in about everything yet, just telling them that this guy was on her radar."

Hotch nodded, "I'll go see what she has, Reid stay here with Emily. She stays here."

The door opened and shut just as quickly as before. Emily looked to Reid and was about to say something when she furrowed her brow.

Reid took note of this, "What's wrong?"

"I have to talk to Garcia," she moved to the door.

He blocked her movement, "No, you can't. Hotch said th-"

"'Hotch said'? Really? You know wh-No. Alright, you go then. Go tell Garcia to search financials for a 'Declan Doyle'. He hasn't been using that name but Ian might. To make this symbolic."

"Symbolic? What's he doing?"

"Reid, thirteen dead teenage boys? He's looking for his son! Somehow he found out he was in Omaha, but he clearly doesn't know where he is precisely or he would have him by now. I'm the only person who knows the exact location and I took that with me to the grave, but Ian is smart, eventually he would have found something. I just never thought he'd get this close before I got him. Reid, go."

"Alright…but I'll have to lock you in…Hotch said that you can't leave."

"Go ahead. Now, go! Remember, make it seem like you came up with this, not me."

Reid nodded, left the room and locked the door.

Running into the conference room, Reid awkwardly waved to JJ and turned to Garcia, "I need you to search financials for me."

"Alright, babe, what's the name?"

"I assume JJ's already told you of our unsub's affiliations?"

He looked nervously towards JJ to make sure he's not out of bounds, she nodded almost too slightly to be noticed.

"Indeed, he works for the scum of the earth and we'll find him and give him what's coming to him! And by 'we' I mean you guys."

"Search the name 'Declan Doyle'. I think he might be searching for his son and he mig-" Reid stopped and suddenly looked concerned, "She's the ONLY one who knows where he is!"

Reid ran from the room, Hotch, Rossi, Morgan and JJ hot on his heels. Seaver and Garcia right after them. He quickly made his way to the observation room and didn't even need to get all the way there when he saw the door was wide open.

"Crap!"

Hotch, stern expression present, checked to see that Amadeus was still there, "Reid, what did she say exactly?"

"I don't know! She said that she was the only…How did she even get out of there? There is no way to unlock that door from the inside of that room!"

"Reid!"

"I guess what we learned from this is that you should never leave me alone with a trained spy! How did she even.."

"REID, What did she say?"

"She said that she was the only one who knew precisely where Declan was! I think she's gone to confront him! Why does she keep doing that?"

Morgan stared at JJ, "What is he saying?"

Rossi looked at Hotch, expression unreadable.

JJ cleared her throat, "Emily's alive..has been. She's been in hiding.."

A sob erupted from Garcia's throat as she is kept from falling by Seaver.

"She can't have gotten too far," Hotch declared looking around at his team, "We can go through this later, right now we need to go after her."

They burst through the doors of the precinct all dead set on getting to the SUVs when they are stopped in their tracks. Emily Prentiss was just sitting out on the curb. An exasperated sigh escaped Reid's throat, "Really?"

She slowly stood from her spot and responded, "I'm tired of being locked up in rooms alone. I just needed to get some fresh air; I didn't mean to alarm anybody…more than expected anyway."

JJ gave her a sympathetic look, "We thought maybe you'd-"

"I know exactly what you think I did, I'm not stupid enough to make that mistake twice. I've already died twice for this man, it's his turn."

"Do you have a plan?"

"You need to call a press conference."

"Alright, what do you want me to say?"

"Not you…me."

Hotch grimaced, "No, that is a horrible idea. I forbid it."

"Forbid it? Alright, do you have a better idea?"

Silence.

"I didn't think so. JJ, Press conference."

* * *

_Next chpt. for either this or my other story will be up shortly! I hope you enjoyed it!_


	2. Two

_On to chpt. 2! _

* * *

Emily stood by herself in conference room. A brief moment of calm before she would have to go and stand in front of the media and put herself out as the proverbial fishing lure. She smoothed the fabric of her shirt as she checked her reflection in the window. Emily was nervous but it wasn't about the press conference. She was nervous because she was just thrown back into her life and she didn't seem to have a leg to stand on. Nothing would make her happier than to be able to hug and kiss her family and tell them that everything would be alright, but this would not be easy. Not in the least. They probably hated her. No, she was sure they did.

She didn't need to look toward the door when she felt another figure enter the room. She knew who it was.

"Derek, I understand you probably have a million questions and you probably have a great deal of hate towards me right now. But you have got to trust me on this," Emily turned to face him, hoping that maybe there was a glimmer of trust remaining between them, enough to allow him to follow her blindly. Well, blindly for now. She would fill the team in on her plan after the press conference. If she told them before they might try to convince her out of it.

He observed her silently for a moment; her hair was about the same length it was when she left if not a bit longer. She stood with her usual grace but there was a weight there, a shadow, she tried and failed to completely hide. Emily Prentiss was standing before him and she was so different yet exactly the same, "Trust isn't the problem. It never has been, but it doesn't mean I am not incredibly pissed off. There was a time, right before Boston, that I was wavering on that trust but I realized I couldn't, not ever. I'll be behind you today and every day after until we catch Doyle."

She couldn't help but wonder if he was just saying those things to make her calm down; certainly he couldn't still just trust her with a flip of a switch. She chose to accept them for now, even if they were just a lie.

JJ popped her head into the room, "Em, We're ready when you are."

JJ was the only friend Emily was certain of at this point and she was very thankful for the sacrifice she had to make to keep this secret from the team. Their family. Some day she'll be able to properly thank her, but today they had a job to do. Emily nodded, "Alright, I guess now is good."

Emily and Derek followed JJ to the press room. JJ had managed, unsurprisingly, to get all the local stations and news outlets to show up. The room was packed. Emily looked to the back of the room and saw Hotch and Rossi observing the crowd. Seaver, Reid and Garcia were nowhere to be seen, but she was certain they were nearby. Emily wavered slightly, thinking back to the tech analyst's tears. Heartbroken was too nice a word to describe the feeling Emily had experienced. She felt a hand on her elbow and looked into JJ's concerned eyes.

"I'm fine, sorry," Emily forced a small smile before stepping to the podium.

The room immediately went from buzzing with noise to an eerily silent hush, clicks of recorders and humming of cameras the only noises piercing the air. Never one to enjoy the spotlight, Emily took a breath to calm her. She glanced around the room once more.

The microphone gave a little bit of feedback when she started to talk, "Over the last week there have been a series of unfortunate murders that we can now tell you are very much connected. The FBI has taken control of this investigation and we are confident that the people responsible will be brought to justice in a timely manner."

The silence left as quickly as it had begun, questions flew at her from all directions, "What are these murders about?"

"Should the public be worried?"

"Should schools be shut down for the time being?"

Emily raised her voice slightly, "All of your questions will be fielded by Agent Jareau in a few minutes. For now all I can tell you is that the FBI is fully aware what these murders are about and have already moved individuals into protective custody. We are certain that this matter will be over before more harm comes to anybody else."

Emily nodded to JJ as she stepped down from the platform. The blonde was immediately bombarded with more questions, but they were nothing she couldn't handle. Derek escorted Emily back to the conference room where the rest of the team, minus Hotch and Rossi, were waiting.

"Individuals in protective custody? I know that isn't usually your job to speak to the public but we don't usually hang people out there as bait," Derek lashed out.

Emily bristled at his tone, sure he was angry but she wasn't a complete idiot, "Morgan, there are no people. I needed to put my face out there and I needed Doyle to think that we had Declan!"

"Needed Doyle to-" Derek's face shifted from confusion to anger, "Dammit, Emily! You've just put yourself on a hook, haven't you?"

"I had to! He was never going to stop looking. I had to make him believe that I feared he was getting close, which he is by the way, so I 'moved' Declan," Emily countered, hoping he would catch on, "And he knows I'm alive. He'll probably follow me too! Track my movements when he thinks my guard is down, he'll move in when he thinks I've finally taken him to his son and then I'll have him!"

"And then what? You'll face him alone again? Let him kill you again?"

Emily leaned back against the table in the conference room, rubbing her face with her hands. She looked around the room, Rossi and Hotch had finally joined them, Reid and Seaver were watching her with mixed emotions. She made eye contact with Garcia's tear filled gaze and choked on her next words, "You were never supposed to be a part of this. I never wanted this part of my life to be a burden on any of you and I was sure that it never had to be. I had made a home with you all, in the BAU. It was the first place that I truly felt like myself. You were more of my family than my actual one. Doyle escaping prison was the last thing I expected."

Derek made a sound to interrupt, Emily turned her gaze to him, anger and defeat laced her tone, "I'm not done yet."

She looked around, daring anyone else to stop her before continuing, "In Boston Doyle got the best of me, and he killed me. Yes I had my small victory in keeping his son from him but that's all I got. I failed to rid him from my life. I failed you all. So I'm not stupid enough to think I can do this on my own. I am going to need your help, one last time. After this I will willingly step out of your lives if that's how you want it to be. I've caused enough pain, I can't handle causing more," she took a shuddering breath; "I just need help. One more time."

She didn't stay in the room long enough for anyone to answer. JJ passed her on her way into the conference room. The media liaison glanced at her retreating friend as she entered the room, "I assume she either told you all what she was doing or you figured it out?"

Hotch grimly nodded and addressed her, "I take it you already knew about it?"

"Not all of it, no," JJ looked to her old team, "but she did tell me the bullet points. And I agree with her, it might be the only way to get Ian Doyle for good. I've already gotten the go-ahead from my bosses to head-up this suedo-taskforce. Although, that's only for official purposes, Emily will make the calls. She knows the profile the best."

"What do we do now? Just wait?" Seaver piped up, having finally gotten a handle on the situation.

No one had to say a word, the line was cast and they just had to wait for the fish to bite.

* * *

After a couple of hours of preparation the team made their way to the hotel. There was no use in starting anything until the morning. A good night's rest would do wonders. And at this point, over planning could be their downfall.

Emily flopped down on the hotel room bed and grabbed the remote. She had no inkling to actually watch anything but it was entirely too early to sleep. And sleeping was bound to bring back uncomfortable nightmares, the same ones that she had been having every single night since she left. And since she was sharing a room with JJ, the blonde was bound to find out. All Emily could hope for was a little bit of time before that embarrassing revelation.

Just as her mind started to drift to her old team, the door unlocked and JJ entered. She looked towards Emily and smiled, "So I see you took the bed closest to the window."

"Oh," Emily sat up, "I can move if you want..."

"Em, Em…it's fine. I was kidding, just trying to lighten the mood of impending doom in here."

The older woman relaxed, "Sorry, I'm just…I don't know." She fell back to her original position on the bed, letting out a puff of air.

JJ grabbed an envelope from her bag and walked over to her friend, "Here, this might cheer you up a little."

Sitting up, Emily grabbed the package, eyeing the young blonde suspiciously. She opened the envelope to find the familiar leather of her badge in it. Holding it up, caressing the worn object she felt a rush of emotion. JJ balked, "Oh, I was just trying to cheer you up! Yay, you're officially Emily Prentiss again. I wasn't trying to upset you."

JJ pulled Emily into a hug, "Em, I'm sorry. I keep messing up."

"No, no," Emily grabbed JJ's hand, "No, you aren't messing up. You're exactly right though. I'm officially Emily again. It's just bringing a lot of things back. And it is incredibly sweet of you. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to thank you for everything you have done for me. You might have to stop for a while so I can catch up."

"I promise to do nothing but horrible things to you and make scathing insults until you catch up."

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

The women smiled at one another before getting comfortable on their separate beds. They sat watching random television until they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Heart-pounding, drenched in a cold sweat, Emily shot awake in her bed. Catching her breath she glanced at the clock on the table. The red numbers declared that it was barely three in the morning. She looked across the room, thankfully JJ was still sound asleep. Careful to be as quiet as possible, she got up, pulled some shoes on and exited the room in search of fresh air.

Sitting down on a chair by the pool, she momentarily regretted forgetting to put on a sweater.

"If you aren't going to be going back to sleep, maybe the cold air will do wonders," She muttered to herself.

"Talking to yourself probably isn't a good thing," Derek's voice pierced the early morning air.

Emily clapped her hand to her chest, "Oh! Wow, I didn't realize you were…I didn't hear- You scared me."

"Not quite as scary as seeing a ghost, I'd imagine," the barb rung clear in his tone.

Even after all the mental preparation for this moment, she was still caught off guard by the sting, "I guess not."

Derek had only heard movement in the hallway and upon seeing that it was Emily; he decided to check on her. He had not followed her with the intention to confront her about this, but since he had slipped into it just now, he might as well follow through, "Did you ever stop to think about anyone but yourself when you left?"

She sensed that his question was rhetorical and stayed quiet as he continued, "And I'm not just talking about Boston, even though that was incredibly stupid. Did you think about how we would be affected? Garcia cried at work every day for four months. And after that it was still a couple of weeks before it stopped completely and she just stayed sad. Reid went and bought every book about loss he could find and still didn't seem to figure out how he was feeling. I still don't think he knows. Though recent events are probably screwing with him some more."

Derek looked in her direction for a split second and noticed the tears on her cheeks as she just listened to him, "Hotch became more closed off than usual, though knowing what I do now, that actually makes a whole load of sense. Seaver was shaken up that her mentor went and pulled a move that is quite possibly the worst thing a mentor could do. And you know what? I'm actually not sure about what Rossi did because he spent his entire time being the voice of reason to everyone else, reassuring them and helping them move on!"

Emily wiped at her cheeks, "I'm-"

"I'm not done yet," he mirrored her statement from the conference room, "Look at me."

She hesitated but met his gaze, finally realizing that he hadn't been raising his voice, just getting closer. He knelt down in front of her, "You were incredibly selfish. And then I think about the fact that you had to recover alone in a hospital. You were in a foreign country with no one to lean on. I realized that you probably knew exactly how everyone would have reacted and you probably thought about it every single day."

He held one of her hands in both of his, "I realize you were incredibly selfless, not selfish. You tore your entire life to pieces just to keep us safe. I'm still mad at you, but I will come around. And everyone else will come to realize that truth as well. I know you're beating yourself up about it and have been for the last two years. Hell, you've been punishing yourself since well before Boston; probably since you were Lauren. I think the only person's forgiveness that you need is your own. You need to forgive yourself."

Emily gasped for breath between sobs; she hadn't expected the conversation to go in that direction at all. Derek pulled her down off of the chair into a hug. They settled on the cold concrete as she cried into his chest. She cried for the last two years, all the pain and all the torment brought forth by his words. He rubbed her back and whispered words of encouragement into her ear. Everything wasn't okay, but hopefully this was a step in the right direction.

* * *

_Chpt 3 will hopefully be up soon-ishly_


	3. Three

_I'm trying to make up for lack of updates by posting one here and one on my other story 'Familiar'. :D Enjoy!_

* * *

Emily couldn't be sure how long she stayed in Derek's embrace. It had felt nice, incredible even, to have someone to hold her. She was impressed that even with his anger towards her, he could find it within himself to make sure she was alright. And he was right about her thinking about them every day. She found her mind drifted to them whenever she had a quiet moment. Maybe someday she'd tell him that her mind went to him the most. She'd tell him that he was the one she was most scared of when it came to coming home, not from fear of him, but fear of him not accepting her back. Trust was such a big deal for him, and she was terrified of the thought of never getting him back in her life. He saved her life with his words, and he needed to know that. But there would be a better time for that. When the anger dissipated just a little and when she was closer to forgiving herself. Right now, she felt like she didn't deserve closure. Not with Ian Doyle still looming overhead. Emily just accepted his arms around her for a little longer, his hands rubbing lazy circles on her back.

When she made it back to her room it was starting to get light outside. On the off-chance that JJ was still asleep, she made sure to open the door as quietly as possible. Though, upon entering the room she realized that was pointless when she heard the hairdryer. JJ was usually an early riser. Emily checked herself in the closet mirror and grimaced. She not only very obviously looked like she had been crying, her cheeks were red from the cold night air and she had rings under her eyes from lack of sleep.

"My, don't we look beautiful?" She grumbled at her reflection.

JJ exited the restroom, looking at her friend in the mirror, she shrugged, "Nothing a nice shower and some make-up won't fix."

Emily almost wanted to hug her, leave it to JJ to not ask questions. She smiled, "I think a shower sounds great, I'll meet you down at breakfast."

"And remember, if your make-up doesn't work well enough, we can always borrow from Garcia."

Both women chuckled and parted ways.

* * *

The annoying thing about Ian Doyle was that he was not one to be easily fooled. To set a trap for a rat that cunning involved a lot of preparation and patience. And patience was not something that easily came to the BAU, not when they really wanted their unsub. They prepped a house to be the 'safe house' where they were supposed to be holding Declan. Members of the team entered and left the house in shifts. It took a couple of days to set that up itself, especially to conceal the fact that suddenly Rossi and Morgan left that rotation. It was decided that the two men would set up camp in the house's basement, when the time came to leave Emily 'alone' in that house, she would have back up.

Initially the team had been uncomfortable with the idea of leaving Emily alone in the house before she had a chance to explain herself. Granted she could have worded the plan better, but the feelings were still there. Up until they were completely prepared, she would never be anywhere alone. Doyle would want this fight to be one on one.

"I know how strange this entire thing is, but it's honestly the only way," Emily grabbed her coffee from the counter, giving the barista a nod. They found a table near the back of the café, out of earshot to anyone who might be listening.

Reid wracked his brain, trying to find in all of the information stored there a better plan, "How do we even know if it's been working? I mean we've been doing this for two weeks now; Rossi and Morgan have been living in a basement for a little under a week. How do we even know if Doyle…" he looked around, as if someone could overhear them, "is even aware?"

"He is."

He looked at her, alarmed, "How do you know that? We haven't heard a whisper of information to prove that."

She took a sip of her coffee; he saw a glimmer of terror in her eyes before she blinked it away, "I can just feel it. He's definitely watching."

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Emily absently caressed her abdomen through her shirt; the scar that lay beneath it ached with memory. Her mind drifted off for a moment before she returned her attention to the lanky agent in front of her, "You've been rather silent about the whole walking-dead situation we've been having. I kind of expected you to say something, anything…"

He looked down at his hands, "I don't have anything to say, I guess."

Emily frowned, "I don't believe that for a second."

"I don't have anything nice to say, then."

"You don't have to be nice to me, Reid. Just be honest."

"I don't know if I can, last time...Last time I was honest with you, you left. I'm afraid that if I tell you what I want to say you'll leave again," His tone had quieted, and the next words he spoke were almost too quiet to hear, "everyone leaves."

She reached over to grasp his hand, to extend comfort or to just get him to look at her, "I need you to listen to me right now. I'm so sorry that I left you like that, but if I could go back and change it I wouldn't."

He looked puzzled but let her continue, "I had to leave to make sure this sadistic bastard didn't go after my family. If I had stayed he would have torn everything apart and made you all lose more than you could handle. I couldn't allow that. I couldn't let my demons destroy you. I wanted to keep my family, you, safe. I've done it before, I'll do it again. Reid, like it or not, I intend to keep you."

Reid smiled softly, "I'm not a possession."

She returned the smile, "I was thinking more of a pet, or maybe a little brother."

"You should have told us. We would have kept your secret."

"Reid, I wish it were that easy and that I could have. But this needed to be kept as quiet as possible. Hotch knew, yes, but JJ was the only one who knew where I was. And even then, she only knew vague facts, no exacts."

Silence fell over them once again. Reid looked at their hands and noticed that her nails were still as tattered, possibly more tattered, as he remembered. As if hearing his thoughts, Emily pulled her hand away and put it in her lap.

"I don't get migraines as frequently as before, but they're still there."

Emily's eyes grew concerned, though she was thankful for the subject change, "No one can tell you what's causing them? Still?"

"At this point, I've chosen to decide that it's due to the stress of the job. And I've handled it pretty well so far."

He shrugged it off and finished his tea.

"Well, as long as you aren't secretly harboring an alien in that head of yours, I think you'll be fine."

Emily felt a rush of pride when she saw him smile at her comment. Baby steps.

* * *

Rossi and Morgan had played through every card game they could think of at least twice since they were down in that basement. They may have even invented a few. Of course, they did not spend every waking moment interacting with one another. The basement was, thankfully, finished and housed a nice entertainment system, a kitchenette and a fully loaded guestroom with attached bath. The problem was that neither of the men liked to wait around like they were. They'd been in this basement for nine days now, and the time had come to bait the trap.

Emily and Hotch arrived at the house around 4pm. They did the usual sweep, made sure all the windows were covered so no one could see what, or who, wasn't in this house. Emily ventured into the basement and Hotch remained on the main floor. To prying eyes, it would look as if they were holding Declan in the basement, where no windows or doors supplied access from the outside.

Emily dropped a bag of food down on the table by the couch, "Alright guys, couple of hours and it will be showtime."

Rossi leaned forward to examine the food items, "You going to join us for dinner, agent, or are you just going to head back upstairs?"

She placed her hand on her stomach, almost as if to ease the butterflies, "I'm not too terribly hungry to be honest. But Hotch suggested that I stay down here for a little bit to make it seem like I'm interacting with the boy. Might cause our guy to get a little angry, maybe slip up."

Morgan eyed her, "Why do we want to get him angrier?"

"We don't want that, by any means, but when he's flustered he messes up," Emily explained, "He all but begged me for the location of his son when he staked me. He never lets his guard down like that. We're hoping to buy time or at least to give me more of an upper hand by angering him."

Rossi watched the two agents exchange looks of determined stubbornness, "I think we all know that we don't know what to expect from today."

Emily avoided Derek's gaze and looked to Rossi, "No we really don't."

She nervously fiddled with another bag she was holding before speaking again, to Rossi, "I brought you some reading material."

Rossi took the bag from her to reveal that day's newspaper, specifically the crossword, "Ah, more entertainment. Not that living down here hasn't been…interesting to say the least, I think we've run out of movies to watch. Well, the ones we could agree on."

Hotch came down the stairs and addressed Emily, "I think you should start getting ready. The earlier this starts, the more comfortable I'd be."

She gave Rossi an uncomfortable smile. He returned the gesture with more confidence, reassuring her with that small action.

* * *

Emily made sure the door locked behind Hotch as he left her alone on the first floor of the house. She quickly checked the windows and the back door for security before she sat down on the couch. Even though she was fully aware of the presence of the two men downstairs she couldn't quell the fear of waiting. They could hear her every move, they were connected by her earpiece and microphone, and they were only a door away.

"Wow, my heart is beating its way out of my chest. You'd think an international terrorist was after me or something," Emily muttered, trying to lighten the mood with her own brand of humor.

Clearly she had hit at least one mark when she heard Rossi chuckle over the com, "I think you might be right on the money with that one, Prentiss."

She could always count on Rossi. She smiled softly to herself as she glanced around the room, checking the shadows. Time seemed to slip by at the speed of a glacier. She paced the hallways and wandered through to different rooms several times. She finally took residence in a guest room of the house. The time was well after ten and she was tired of waiting. She thought briefly about fashioning some sort of beacon to draw her prey to her location faster. She laughed to herself, "Where in the hell would I get a light that big at this time of night?"

Certainly she sounded insane on the other end of the com because they had only heard that one thing from her in over an hour.

* * *

Rossi smirked at Morgan when they heard Emily explain the reasoning behind needing a giant light. The younger agent was waiting on the stairs, mere feet from the door, ready to pounce into action. Rossi shifted his position, "What else have you come up with?"

Emily sighed, "Too many things that wouldn't work without being superhuman."

"Like?"

"I thought about trapping him in a giant net? Lace it with something he really likes like aged scotch and he'd get trapped like moth to the light."

Morgan chuckled, "I think you might also trap Rossi in that one…"

Rossi grinned, "Yea, but we'd catch him in the process."

They heard movement upstairs and assumed Emily was just restless again. None of them liked the prospect of sitting around for hours, but she was probably the least keen on the idea. Even if she had been the one to invent it in the first place. She produced a mirthful laugh over the com; at least she was in high spirits. Or was she just masking her nerves?

Another hour passed by in silence, the trio getting increasingly anxious as midnight grew closer. Morgan checked his weapon once again as they heard a creak from the upper floor. Rossi remained alert though he was sure that it was just Emily pacing again.

A rush of air crackled over the airwaves. A thump resounded from above, followed by another and a crash. Both men barely looked to one another as they sprung to action, momentarily frozen by the voice on the com, "You sneaky minx."

Ian Doyle had arrived.

* * *

_Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate them! The next chpt will be up in the relative near future._


	4. Four

_Here is the next installment! _

* * *

Ian Doyle had somehow managed, even with all the preparation and precautions, to get into the house unnoticed. Emily tried to keep her increasing terror from revealing itself on her face. She leveled her gun with his head but didn't have enough time to shoot him before he pounced. Doyle pushed her back into the wall, grabbing both of her arms and pinning them. She struggled against him, losing grip of her gun but managing to kick him off of her. She made a move for the gun only to have him grab her around the waist and throw her across the room. The force of her impact on the opposite wall knocked a picture frame crashing to the ground.

"You sneaky little minx," He took a step toward her, eyeing her up and down.

Emily swallowed in fear, her mouth and throat suddenly very dry. She had lost her earpiece somewhere in the scuffle, she was alone.

* * *

Derek bolted up from his spot on the stairs and made for the basement door, expecting it to open immediately. Instead he was met with resistance, the door wasn't locked but it was barricaded from the outside. Morgan worriedly glanced back at Rossi.

"EMILY!" Derek yelled desperately while using his own weight as a battering ram, repeatedly trying to force the door open.

* * *

Emily stepped away from the wall and quickly took in the situation. He didn't look armed, but she was certain he was. And he was also standing between her and her gun.

"Darling, I am surprised to see you. Given the last time I saw you, you had a table leg sticking out of your gut," Doyle growled, moving towards her.

She watched his every move, slowly backing away to keep a good distance between them but not allowing her to get boxed in.

"My team is here, I have back-up. You won't get so lucky this time," Emily snarled.

"Really? Where exactly? The basement? That I blocked the exit of?"

She faltered slightly.

"I believe I have you all to myself. So, I can kill you and get out without being stopped."

She swallowed again but composed herself, "If you do that, you won't get Declan."

"I think I'm close enough without your help, you aren't useful anymore. It's a shame…such a waste of someone so intelligent."

* * *

"Rossi, is there an axe or a hammer or something down there? We need something to break through this door!" Derek pushed against the door for what seemed the hundredth time.

Rossi looked up from his phone, "I'll look, but what's worrying me more is that I can't get a signal and we can't call the rest of the team."

Derek groaned in frustration, once more pushing as hard as he could against the door, trying to fit his arm through the small gap to push away whatever furniture was blocking it.

"_I believe I have you all to myself. So, I can kill you and get out without being stopped,"_ Doyle's voice came over the com causing both men to push their weight against the door, determined to get free.

"Not today, you son of a bitch," Derek gritted his teeth and pushed harder.

* * *

Emily braced herself, letting Doyle make the first move. He lunged at her and she dodged past him, making a second attempt for her gun. She almost made it past him before he reached out and grabbed her arm, swinging her into a bookshelf, knocking shelves and books down to the ground with her.

She grimaced in pain, and briefly reflected on her dumb luck for being in the one room with the most painful furniture. He followed her closely and grabbed at her again, this time she was prepared, hitting him in the face with one of the fallen books. Doyle stumbled backwards. She opted to tackle him instead of making another run for the gun. She could just as easily knock him out if she used enough force.

Emily swung a fist into his face once, twice and a third time before he forcefully grabbed her wrist and punched her back with his free hand. She grabbed his free hand with her free hand and they found themselves locked in a stand-off for a moment. He used his hold on her has leverage and launched her off of him.

They both scrambled to their feet, breathing heavily. Emily took note of her location in the room again, still not close enough to get to her weapon. Not that it mattered when Doyle took his chance at her moment of weakness and ran at her with full force. He tackled her and they both went sailing through a large glass window to the deck outside.

Lucky for him and unlucky for her, she had landed in the worst possible way. Ian Doyle rested his weight heavily on her, straddling her at the waist. One of her arms was pinned painfully underneath her own body and he pinned the other. Emily glared up at him, trying to wiggle free from his grasp but was quickly realizing that it was fruitless. She was only successful in pressing more of the broken glass into her pinned arm.

Ian smiled down at her, "Stop fighting, it's useless. You might as well enjoy this while it lasts."

Emily turned her face away from his only to have him forcefully turn it back.

"You will look at me when I kill you; just so I can make sure you go."

He reached into the breast pocked of his jacket and pulled out a knife. She closed her eyes, forcing the fear into the back of her mind. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Once she composed herself, Emily made eye contact with him again. He smiled. It took all her energy not to retch at the sight.

Doyle slowly ran the blade across her cheek, barely touching the skin, "It really is unfortunate. You were quite the woman before you turned out to be a lying bitch."

He moved the blade over her neck down to her collar bone; he pressed the blade down drawing a small amount of blood and a slight whimper from Emily. Doyle looked her square in the eye as he made his next decision. The knife's blade slid between the buttons of her shirt and in a quick movement he had removed them all, effectively opening her shirt. Emily forced herself to keep eye contact and not to show any emotion as she felt his hand caress the scar on her abdomen. His hand moved to her breast to brush over the shamrock he had left there. He observed it for a moment, running his fingers over the design, before dropping his head to press a soft kiss to the burn.

Emily let a tear fall, only to regret it immediately when he brushed it away with his thumb. He leaned closer and softly caressed her cheek. She pulled her head away from him, as far as she could manage. Doyle gave her a wicked grin, the kind that could only bring pain, and stabbed the knife into the soft flesh above her collar bone. She cried out in pain as he slowly removed the knife only to reinsert it in her bicep. It was clear that he decided to forgo a quick death for an excruciatingly slow one. None of these wounds would kill her on their own, but it seemed like he was more focused on causing her pain.

He removed the knife from her bicep with a callous laugh. He shifted slightly and pressed the blade into the skin right below her right breast. Doyle's tunnel vision prevented him from hearing the basement door splinter. He slowly pressed the blade further into her skin, watching her face contort in pain. He completely missed the pounding footsteps traveling toward the back deck. He twisted the knife as he pushed it in to the hilt, causing a pained sob to escape Emily's throat.

Derek burst through the backdoor, only taking enough time to make sure Emily wasn't in his line of fire before shooting Doyle between the eyes. The force of the bullet knocked him off of Emily and left him lifeless to her right side. She immediately rolled away from him, but didn't stand. Derek went straight to Emily and Rossi went to ascertain that Ian Doyle was really and truly dead, though there really was no doubt about it.

"Em," Derek rested his hand on her shoulder, taking note of the fact that she still had a knife sticking out of her rib cage, "you're going to be alright. The ambulance is on its way."

"I'm alright," she repeated robotically.

"These don't look deep. You'll probably need a few stitches…" he tapered off, not quite sure what else to say to her. He was afraid that the wounds may be the least of their problems.

* * *

JJ accompanied Emily to the hospital while the rest of the team remained at the house. They were assured by the paramedics that she would be fine as Derek assumed, she would just need to get some stitches. They also wanted to be sure that she didn't have any broken bones from the fight.

Derek watched as the coroner wheeled Ian Doyle's body away. He looked down at his hands to find that he once again had Emily's blood on his hands, at least this time it wasn't in the same manner. He kept watching the coroner work until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You did good work today," Hotch handed him a towel to clean his hands with.

"Yea…" Derek said distractedly.

Hotch eyed him carefully, "You killed him, and you saved her. What's the matter?"

"She shouldn't have had to fight him alone; we should have known that he would have been smarter than that. Everyone should have been on that radio frequency, not just the three of us. She doesn't need more scars to remind her of that despicable man."

Derek finished cleaning his hands and whipped the towel onto a table in frustration. Hotch studied him for a moment, "We couldn't have known what he was going to do. We all knew that he would be unpredictable in some regard."

Derek huffed, "Yea, but I shouldn't have let that happen."

Hotch watched as Derek walked away. There would be no getting through to him right now. All he could do now was order the team to get some rest, it was late and there would be paperwork in the morning.

* * *

It was barely 8am when there was an urgent knock on Derek's hotel room door. Instinctively he grabbed the gun off the bedside table before getting up to check the peephole. He opened the door to a nervous looking Emily. Her face was bruised; he could see a couple of bandages peeking out from underneath her v-neck. She was holding herself awkwardly, sore from the fight.

Emily bit her lip, "Can I come in?"

He nodded silently, stepping back to let her in. He noticed she was holding a file tightly in her hands and she had her purse. She stood near the bed and only sat after he motioned for her to do so, she did not want to push any boundaries. Emily slumped into a comfortable seated position, careful not to pull anything. He couldn't help but notice how small she seemed.

Emily took a few moments to collect her thoughts before looking at him, "Thank you…for saving me."

He didn't entirely know how to respond in this kind of situation, he was obviously sure of his decision to shoot Doyle but it's not every day you get thanked for killing someone, "You're welcome."

Derek grimaced slightly, definitely an awkward exchange. Emily seemed to notice it as well. She shifted nervously on the bed, drawing nonsensical circles on the folder.

He observed her for a moment before asking, "Is that all?"

She took a deep breath, "Would I be out line if I asked you to drive me somewhere?"

Derek cocked an eyebrow at her, "What?"

"I need to go somewhere, I don't have a car. Would you drive me?"

He gave her a confused look, "Why are you being so vague?"

"I don't want to be, but right now I have to. I promise you will know really soon."

Derek leaned against the wall opposite her, "Why aren't you asking JJ? Or Hotch maybe?"

She looked down at the floor, "I could, but I wanted to ask you."

Not needing to hear anymore, he replied, "When do you want to go?"

An hour and a half later Derek parked the SUV in front of a small house. Emily was sitting in the passenger seat fiddling with one of the bandages on her arm. She didn't notice that the car had stopped moving until Derek gently nudged her hand.

She jumped, "What? –Oh. We're here."

Derek couldn't help but feel concerned about her still jumpy nature, hopefully in time her confidence would return – he'd really missed her.

"Are you going to tell me where we are yet?" Derek prodded one more time; he had tried twice on the trip there and was hoping for a little bit of a clue.

She remained silent and gathered herself before getting out of the car. Derek also left the car but did not follow her up the walk to the house – he instead perched himself against the hood of the car, allowing him to see her without crowding her.

Derek watched Emily ring the doorbell. She shifted anxiously until she heard someone coming to the door. Then as if someone turned on a light the old Emily showed up. She stood poised and confident. Even covered in bandages she still managed to give off a vibe of strength. Derek's awe at this transformation broke as the front door opened. A teenager stood before Emily, blonde and blue-eyed. Derek knew at once who this was, this was Declan. The only time Derek had seen a picture of the kid he had been much younger, but this was definitely him.

He watched as Declan looked a little confused and then a wave of recognition came over him. He could vaguely make out what was being said by looking at Declan, he could only assume Emily was telling him about his father. The teen's emotions flickered across his face and then hugged Emily hard, clinging to her with all of his strength. The hug lasted a couple of minutes; Derek guessed that the kid had started to cry when Emily stroked his back. There was a clear bond between these two.

Declan pulled back and asked Emily a question. She lowered bowed her head and shook it, then she turned and gestured to Derek. Derek looked towards the two and watched as they approached him. Declan came to stand a few feet in front of Derek.

"You shot my dad?" he asked, he didn't look angry. If anything, he looked relieved –calm.

Derek glanced over at Emily before answering, "Yes, I did. I'm sorry for your loss."

Declan shook his head, "He was never a dad to me, Louise and Em were more to me than he was. I know that he was a bad guy."

Declan extended his hand to Derek. Derek hesitated for a second but then shook it. Declan smiled at him and turned to Emily, "Will you keep in touch this time? Now that you can, that is."

Emily gave him a watery smile, "I'd love to."

Declan smiled and hugged her once again, "I should get back inside now; I have a soccer game I need to be getting ready for. Thank you, again."

Derek and Emily watched him walk back into the house. Derek stood looking at the closed door for several seconds before turning to Emily.

"Why couldn't you tell me this was where we were going?"

She smiled softly, "Would you judge me if I said I was afraid you wouldn't want to come?"

Emily tore her eyes away from his and climbed back in the car. He watched her for a moment before crossing to the driver's side. Before putting the key in the ignition, he touched her arm, "Thank you for bringing me here."

Derek turned the car on and started to drive away. Once they were on the freeway, Emily responded, "I had to let you know just how much you did by killing him. You saved my life. You've made it possible for Declan to live without the shadow of his father. A lot of people will be grateful. A lot of people are. I am."

He kept his eyes on the road and softly repeated, "Thanks."

* * *

_Thank you for reading! Next chpt. soon, hopefully._


End file.
